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Colon scratched, heading to bereavement list

Righty, who was slated to face Cubs on Monday, leaves to be with ailing mother

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Colon's strong start 1:06

8/13/14: Bartolo Colon limits the Nationals to two runs on six hits while striking out eight over seven innings of work

By Tim Healey
/
MLB.com |

NEW YORK -- Mets manager Terry Collins got to the office on Monday morning and learned of a sudden change of plans.

Bartolo Colon, who had been scheduled to start in the series finale against the Cubs, was scratched. The right-hander was to fly home to the Dominican Republic to be with his critically ill mother.

Following Monday's 4-1 loss, the club announced via Twitter that Colon will be placed on the bereavement list and right-hander Gonzalez Germen will be recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas in advance of Tuesday's series opener at Oakland.

Right-hander Carlos Torres started in Colon's place on Monday and worked five scoreless frames in a no-decision. Before the game, Collins said he hoped to get four, maybe five innings out of Torres, who threw two pitches and recorded one out on Sunday.

Torres didn't find out he was going to start until he got to the stadium on Monday morning. It was his first start since last September, and this outing was his longest of the season. He went about it carefully.

"You start with one and hope you get through one and go from there," Torres said. "Because that very easily could have been two innings and out of the ballgame with eight runs. So you have to go with one inning no matter what, whether you're starting or relieving."

As a long man in the Mets' bullpen, Torres has thrown up to 81 pitches in 4 2/3 innings. That outing came on July 4, when starter Jon Niese left after one out. Torres also managed four innings (63 pitches) on June 15.

Tim Healey is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.